Will Hall’s most important changes to Southern Miss football may go beyond the field
Three months and three practices into the Will Hall era at Southern Miss, the coaching staff and players seem to be on the same page on the direction of the program.
Hall was asked after Saturday’s practice what encourages him most about his squad so far, and he pointed to the players’ response to himself and the staff as a whole.
“I’m most encouraged about how hungry the kids are,” Hall said. “It sounds cliché and sometimes it sounds like there’s so much positivity that we’re all sitting around a campfire. That’s not really what’s going on.
“These guys are hungry for success, hungry to win. Like you heard from (senior defensive back) Tyler Barnes, I think the players have extremely gravitated toward the organization. We don’t waste time and they appreciate that. That means they have more time away.”
Barnes didn’t shy away this week from saying that he believes Hall’s program is a well-oiled machine compared to working under previous coach Jay Hopson’s staff.
“It’s way different,” the D’Iberville native said. “We’re a way more organized team to the point we get up here, to the point that we leave. That’s a huge difference.
“I feel like the past few years we weren’t as organized. Sometimes it would lead to maybe certain players not being in the right spot or late to certain things. Showing up late and missing activities, that’s going to show on the field. It doesn’t build good relationships. As a team, we’re more organized. It makes everything easier — practice, meetings, breakfast. It’s a great feeling.”
Aside from the better organization of day-to-day activities, there’s was also a different vibe during the first week of spring practice. Hall is obsessed with maintaining a positive outlook and each practice ends with the players giving each other high fives at midfield.
“There’s a lot more energy in the spring, a lot more positive attitudes,” senior offensive lineman Arvin Fletcher said. “I like it so far.”
First day in pads for Southern Miss
Saturday marked the first time that the Golden Eagles have put pads on during spring practice and Hall was encouraged by what he saw.
“Everybody was fired up. We had good juice and energy,” Hall said. “It was really hot today. The Good Lord loves the Eagles. It was supposed to rain. You saw some fatigue late but that’s normal when it’s hot the first time. The kids battled through.
“Defensively, I thought we really matched our patterns well and covered well. We were still able to get open a lot (at receiver), but we had a lot of drops in contested situations. (Redshirt sophomore quarterback) Trey Lowe continues to prove he can be a Div. 1 quarterback and (freshman QB) Tee Web took more major strides. (Junior defensive back) Natrone Brooks had an unbelievable interception on the sideline. We have a lot of good tape to learn from.”
Will Hall shows off his throwing arm
Hall claims he won’t be a micro-manager, but he showed Saturday that he’s not afraid get actively involved in practice.
Hall, who was quite the quarterback during his playing days, jumped at the opportunity to show off his arm at the end of a throwing drill for the quarterbacks at M.M. Roberts Stadium on Saturday.
The throw was on the money, but the receiver couldn’t haul it in.
When asked how he’d rate his throwing ability as a 40-year-old, Hall admits he’s still got a lot left in his right arm.
“Better than most, way better than most,” Hall said. “I can’t throw it as good as I could, but I’ll go toe to toe anyone with anyone that wants some.”
Before Hall was a football coach, he was a star quarterback at Amory High School, Northwest Mississippi Community College and North Alabama.
It was at North Alabama where he won the 2003 Harlon Hill Trophy, which goes to the nation’s best player in Div. II. He completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 3,531 yards and 30 touchdowns that season.
Frank Gore Jr. limited in USM’s practice
Freshman running back Frank Gore Jr. wasn’t full go during Saturday’s session after tweaking his hamstring during Wednesday’s practice.
Hall described the decision to limit him on Saturday as precautionary and that they expect him be able to fully participate when practice resumes on Tuesday.
Gore ran 121 times for 708 yards and two touchdowns last season.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 1:53 PM.
